10 Hot Kiln Tips

by David L. Gamble

I conduct a lot of workshops for

K12 teachers around the country
every year and Im thrilled about
the enthusiasm educators have for
teaching ceramics to kids. Throughout these workshops I answer many
questions and hear a lot of stories
on the subject of firing, especially of
electric kilns.

1
Vacuum the interior of the kiln, espe-

There are two main reasons for

cially the element grooves.
firing clay, and in most cases two
different firings are requires. One
is to prepare pieces for glazing by
firing what is called a bisque. In this
firing, the heat from the kiln changes
the molecular structure of the clay
and hardens it so it will no longer
break down in water to its original
moist, pliable form. This also makes
pieces less fragile, but still porous
enough to absorb water so that
when wet glaze is applied, it will
stick to the surface. The second firing is to melt and fuse any applied
glaze to the surface and for higher
temperature firings, this firing further
strengthens the pots.

Ten Tips for

Successful Firing

Before you fire. When installing

your kiln, make sure its at least
18 inches away from any wall. Vacuum the interior of the kiln, especially
the element grooves (figure 1), about
every 20 firings, and after every firing when a piece blows up in the kiln.
Inspect hinges and handles for wear
(figure 2). Check the thermocouple(s),
and replace if necessary (figure 3).
Every six months, unplug the kiln (if
your kiln has a plug) and inspect the
prongs as well as the insulation (figure 4). Brown or black discoloration
indicates a worn plug or loose wires

3
Check the thermocouple(s), for excessive oxidation.

4
Unplug the kiln and inspect the
prongs and insulation.

Inspect hinges and lid handles for

wear. Tighten loose screws or pins.

Inspect kiln shelves and reapply kiln

wash to any bare spots before firing.

and a potential fire hazard. Keep all

flammable, combustible and meltable
materials (cardboard, wareboards,
newspaper, fabric, vacuum hoses,
plastic, etc., away from the sides
and top of the kiln. These areas get
extremely hot.

cently cleaned and scraped shelves

as needed (figure 5). Remove any
loose or chipped kiln wash that
make flake onto pots during the firing. Store unused shelves in a safe
and low-traffic area.

Protect your shelves. Kiln wash

protects your shelves from glaze
drips. Inspect shelves prior to firing
and recoat any bare spots or re2010 Ceramic Publication Company

Always use cones. Pyrometric

cones are formulated from
ceramic materials including clay,
oxides, feldspars, and frits, and
are designed to bend at specific

6
Remove burrs using a damp sponge
or drywall sanding screen before the
bisque firing.

7
A pot that feels cool to the touch still
has moisture in it and needs to be
preheated before firing.

time/temperature combinations to
give you an accurate reading on
the heatwork created in your kiln.
Cones measure the relationship of
temperature absorbed by the ware
over time. Tip: Use cones even if
you are using an automatic kiln
controller. Cones verify the accuracy of the controller and are a
backup if the controller fails.

Clean up greenware. Signatures and decorations leave

burrs that must be removed using a
damp sponge while leather hard,
or drywall sanding screen for drier
work, before the bisque firing (figure 6). Once fired, the only way to
remove these is by grinding with a
Dremel tool, or sanding with wet/
dry silicon carbide sandpaper.

Handle greenware with care.

Bone dry greenware is fragilemore fragile than when its
leather hard. Never pick up pieces
by any appendage or handle.

8
Sponge off any glaze within inch of
the bottom of the foot.

Fire dry pots. To see if a pot is

dry, touch the pot to your cheek
(figure 7). If it is cold or damp, there
is still moisture in it and you will
need to preheat the kiln to 180F
and leave it at that temperature and
vented until all moisture its gone.
Water boils at 212F (100C), and
thats the temperature where theres
danger of blowing up pieces. If the
moisture is not driven out and the
temperature rises to water boiling
levels, the rapid expansion of the
steam thats created blows out the
walls of your piece.

7
9
Stagger the shelves and place taller
pots in the middle of the kiln to promote better heat penetration. Allow 5
inches of clearance when placing large
flat work on the top shelf.

Wipe your feet. Any glaze that

touches the shelf during a firing
sticks to it. Carefully sponge off any
glaze within inch of the bottom of
the foot. For pots with thick or runny
glazes, clean off a bit higher than
that. Do not rely on the kiln wash to
save the pot or the shelf from being
damaged by glaze drips (figure 8).

Loading greenware or glazeware. Electric kilns heat from the

outside walls, where the elements
are located, in towards the center,
2010 Ceramic Publication Company

so stagger the shelves and place

taller pots in the middle of the stack
to promote better heat penetration
to the middle of the kiln. Greenware
pieces can touch and can be stacked
in some cases, but I prefer to leave
space between them for even heat
distribution. When placing a large
flat piece on the top shelf, allow
approximately 5 inches of clearance to the top. Extra clearance
allows for heat from the sides of the
kiln to travel up and over, reaching
the middle of the piece so that all
areas heat evenly. If wide pieces
are heated unevenly, the expansion
rate of the side may be considerably
different from that of the center of the
piece, which will cause it to crack.
In all firings, keep a the edge of the
stack at least 1 inch from sides of the
kiln (figure 9).

Bisque fire slowly. Clay contains organic material that

needs time to burn out. If you raise
the temperature of the kiln too
fast, gases will become trapped in
the clay body. Organic materials
burn off between 572F (300C)
and 1472F (800C). Also, if not
completely burnt out in the bisque,
organics may give you trouble in
the glaze firing as it as escapes
as gas, pushing through the glaze
and creating pin holing, which can
mar the glaze surface.

10

Keep records. Keep a firing record of firing times

(lengths), the cones you used and
the result of their melt (draw a quick
sketch of how they looked, or note
whether the target cone was at 1,
3 or 5 oclock for example), and
record the number of firings in a
particular kiln. These records can
give you indications on element
wear (e.g., if firings take longer than
usual) and future maintenance that
may be needed. n

David L. Gamble is a frequent contributor

to PMI. He holds masters degrees from Edinboro and Indiana State Universities in art
education and fine arts, and currently serves
as an education consultant for Skutt.